SEC Makes July Splash With 2024 Commits
Ok SEC…we see you! The SEC has been rising in the ranks as far as picking up some of the top prep volleyball players in the country. The Class of 2024 follows suit with some of the best from the…
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Continue ReadingOk SEC…we see you! The SEC has been rising in the ranks as far as picking up some of the top prep volleyball players in the country. The Class of 2024 follows suit with some of the best from the Prep Dig National Rankings and plenty of other high quality athletes making their verbal this past month. Who is on the rise? What names do people need to know? And who is going to be ones to watch coming into the SEC when they welcome the likes of Oklahoma and Texas in two seasons.
Auburn’s July Jump
Coach Brent Crouch and his staff have plenty to celebrate at the end of the month with a camp series that eventually landed commits from near and far. Emma Moore is a middle blocker from in state McGill-Toolen Catholic in Mobile while they were able to get a commit from one of the top players in the Pacific Northwest in Lauren Dreves Lauren Dreves 6'1" | OH Columbia River | 2024 State #46 Nation WA who is extremely dynamic with her style of play. Dreves has played club for Oregon Juniors out of Portland and has quite a whip on her swing to go along with a high contact point. A pure point scorer. Bella Humphrey comes from a program of success with Boiler Juniors and a state championship squad with her high school team in McCutcheon outside of West Lafayette, IN. She will be able to contribute in multiple ways in the Tiger’s gym. Auburn has started a pipeline into Missouri, specifically the St. Louis area and Kalei Edson Kalei Edson 5'10" | S Centralia | 2024 State #120 Nation IL who has played club for HPSTL is an absolutely electric athlete. She can set, she can swing on the right, she can do it all. After seeing her play live at MEQ, it was easy to see how she was going to be a big time pick up at the next level.
Auburn
Emma Moore – McGill-Toolen (AL) – Lower Alabama Volleyball – Middle Blocker
Bella Humphrey – McCutcheon (IN) – Boiler Juniors – Outside/DS
Kalei Edson Kalei Edson 5'10" | S Centralia | 2024 State #120 Nation IL – Centralia (IL) – HPSTL – Right Side/Setter
Lauren Dreves Lauren Dreves 6'1" | OH Columbia River | 2024 State #46 Nation WA – Columbia River (WA) – Oregon Juniors – Outside/Pin Hitter
The Texas Effect
This will be an interesting pattern to track over the next few years with the SEC, but also other conferences who are “realigning”. With Texas and Oklahoma joining the SEC in 2023-2024, will that create new recruiting opportunities for the SEC in these states? LSU and new head coach Tonya Johnson, who was previously the recruiting coordinator at Texas, has made a splash picking up Jessica Jones Jessica Jones 6'2" | MB Wakeland Highschool | 2024 State #169 Nation TX and Lainee Pyle, who are both high impact attackers out of Texas. They are accustomed to winning along with winning and training at a high level.
Ashby Daniel (Alabama), Jaela Auguste (Florida), Cayley Hanson Cayley Hanson 6'2" | S Deer Park | 2024 State #43 Nation TX (Mississippi State), and Carson Eickenioff (Ole Miss). These athletes aren’t secrets in the state of Texas either. They’ve been competing against each other in big time open competitions and have been competing for club national titles. College programs want athletes like this who have the size, athleticism, and training that will translate smoothly to the next level.
Kentucky 2024’s Combine Well With 2023 Class
Kentucky has a very dynamic class with their 2023s that include Ava Sarafa (Michigan Elite), Brooke Bultema (Elevation), Brooklyn DeLeye (Topeka Impact), Molly Tuozzo (Houston Skyline), and Jordyn Dailey (CHAVC). Sarafa is one of the top setters in the Class of 2023 and middle blockers in Bultema and Dailey are extremely fast and dynamic. The two outside hitters they are bringing in 2024 will be quite the package with DeLeye out of Kansas where they can score from anywhere on the court. Asia Thigpen Asia Thigpen 5'11" | OH Northwood | 2024 #50 Nation NC was lightning in a bottle for Triangle out of North Carolina all season where she has a violent arm, but is also a rock solid defender and consistent in serve receive. Hannah Benjamin comes from one of the top clubs in the Southeast with A5. Benjamin can hit multiple tempos and knows how to mix in a variety of shots along with using the block to her advantage. With these combination of athletes, the Wildcats will definitely be running a fast tempo offense with this group where they will be touch to defend.
Alabama
Ashby Daniel – Plano East (TX) – TAV – Middle Blocker
Florida
Jaela Auguste – Grand Oaks (TX) – Houston Skyline – Middle Blocker
Kentucky
Asia Thigpen Asia Thigpen 5'11" | OH Northwood | 2024 #50 Nation NC – Northwood (NC) – Triangle – Outside Hitter
Hannah Benjamin – Homeschool (GA) – A5 – Outside Hitter
LSU
Jessica Jones Jessica Jones 6'2" | MB Wakeland Highschool | 2024 State #169 Nation TX – Wakeland (TX) – Drive Nation – Middle Blocker
Aly Kirkhoff Aly Kirkhoff 5'6" | DS/L Roncalli | 2024 State IN – Roncalli (IN) – Team Indiana – Libero
Lainee Pyles Lainee Pyles 6'3" | MB Fossil Ridge | 2024 State #47 Nation TX – Fossil Ridge (TX) – Madfrog – Outside Hitter
Mississippi State
McKenna Yates – Trinity Catholic (FL) – Max Performance – Libero
Cayley Hanson Cayley Hanson 6'2" | S Deer Park | 2024 State #43 Nation TX – Deer Park South (TX) – Houston Skyline – Setter
Missouri
Claire Morrissey Claire Morrissey 6'0" | RS St Joseph’s Academy | 2024 State #22 Nation MO – St. Josephs (MO) – Rockwood Thunder – Outside Hitter
Ole Miss
Carson Eickenloff Carson Eickenloff 5'7" | S Boyd | 2024 State #146 Nation TX – Boyd (TX) – Drive Nation – Setter
Tennessee
Camdyn Stucky Camdyn Stucky 6'1" | S Maize South | 2024 State #97 Nation KS – Maize South (KS) – Shockwave – Setter